Why don't people enjoy quiet anymore?
 

When I am out working around the place, I generally enjoy the quiet. Of course, it's not really 'quiet'...there are numerous birds, crickets, bullfrogs and tree frogs in the evening, and the sound of the wind in the trees. I really never listen to the radio when outside. I just enjoy the sounds of nature. Even when I go fishing at the coast, I try to find a spot away from everyone else because I'd rather hear the sound of the surf and seagulls than a thumping car radio.

I have noticed that lots of people have to have a car radio going when they're outside. Even though my closest neighbor is a good 1/4 mile or further away, I can clearly hear their stereo during the day, enough to listen along to the ball game, talk radio or hear what music they're listening to. It must be deafening in their yard. When I go fishing, same thing. No one seems able to set up fishing without a squawking box next to them.

Just a rant, I guess.

I love the quiet.
When I am outside I wish that I could cull the roos or cull all the bluejays etcc too.
And when I am in the house I never have the stereo on or anything. I love a dead silent house.
In the car I have either a book on tape or a radio going..

because it's too QUIET!!!! Atleast that's how my younger counsin from the city described it. I think most people have grown up with so much noise that if they don't have it around they get nervous. My mom and me can go for days without have a t.v. or radio on. My dad on the other hand MUST have that stupid contraption on all the time. I remember times when I was growing up I'd get up before anybody and be out in the living doing something quietly he'd come out and turn the t.v on and ask me "how come you didn't turn the t.v. on?" or he'd be getting ready to go somewhere, didn't matter if he was only going to be there for 10 mins he had to turn the thing on. I think that's why I refuse to have a t.v. now. I do have a shortwave radio but it's on maybe 4 or 5 hours a month. I mostly forget to turn it on too:rolleyes:

We LOVE the peace and quiet. I rarely turn on the TV in the house and never turn on the radio. I do play the radio in the car, and sometimes listen to a CD in my sewing room. Otherwise, I prefer to hear the wind blow and the birds sing.

I had a day to myself today, And the quiet ROCKS! I am really not used to quiet- between my kids, hubby, and the animals (well- they didn't go anywhere for the day) and my job as a preschool teacher- my daylight hours are rarely quiet.

I had a friend see me in the yard earlier burning leaves out of the first flower bed I am cleaning up after winter and she pulled and rolled the window down to talk to me- right next to my fire so the smoke was rolling into her car :rolleyes: (city folk) anyhow- she says what's wrong you look like your going to cry, I said, "nothing"- but what I wanted to say was- I NEVER get a day to myself to do what I would like to do and enjoy the quiet so despite you are my friend I really want to be alone. Because this is such a rare occasion

I LIKE the quiet too!

In the morning, the kitchen TV goes on for us to watch the news and weather. Then, off it is! I've tried to have it on when I'm working in the kitchen, but that chatter-chatter-chatter gets me nuts! If Roger is home at noon, he turns it back on for the news and weather but, if he isn'thome, I never turn it on.

Roger recently bought me an M3P player and speakers but I haven't figured out how to use it yet (and I'm not in a hurry!). Bless his heart! I do enjoy my old music now and then but quiet is the best.

I like the quiet. My husband likes 'background noise'. I have it my way whenever he's deployed, but when he's home, I'm on edge all the time from the noise. Just another thing to deal with, though. I know I'm not the 'normal' one here!

M

Oh I think that's what I miss about back home in the mountains--the quiet. It's so quiet it's almost spooky at first--but glorious.

I've never been one to play background music or anything.

I loved it during the hurricanes that went through FL a few years ago- no noise other than Mother Nature. No radios, TV's, A/C's; nothing! We recently (tried to) film some short narrations for our church's cantata. We went 'on location' to a lovely secluded spot, but you can't believe how hard it was to film a couple very short scenes without modern noises in the background. Airplanes, helicopters, lawn mowers, boats, power tools- all on an early Sunday morning. When we first bought our rural property in SC, my wife and I were standing in the woods, and I said, "What do you hear?" She replied, "Nothing." There ya go.....

i love this time of year!! I can open my windows all night, clean fresh air, the crickets, the frogs, the whipporwills, the coyotes

The following was in the NCRLC newsletter I received yesterday. I'm going to do it.

We had a little extra money, so went out to dinner tonight. MAN was that restaurant noisy! I just finally realized just how quiet our house usually is.

I think one of the reasons that I am childfree is that I cannot stand a lot of noise. I can't stand to have a radio on when I am outside and having a radio blaring in a car when I am driving is impossible.

Several years back, I found it quite annoying when I went to Florida, that people cannot be on a beach without some kind of annoying music playing. I am very, very grateful that IPODS are so popular right now, because I would much rather have people with things stuck in their ears, listening to their music instead of making me suffer along with it.

The only time I listen to the radio/music is when I am doing housework, and sometimes while working on my computer in the evening. Never when I am outside enjoying the beautiful music that nature provides.

donsgal

OMG do you know what drives me crazy? When the busboy comes along and clears a table and makes enough noise to wake the dead. Why doesn't someone tell these people to clean the tables QUIETLY instead of throwing the plates, cups, etc., in and banging them around. sheesh

donsgal

I really enjoy the quiet. Unfortunatly we rent a house on a busy street so it is rare that it is truely quiet. I can't wait to get our place in the country!

In the car I like to listen to CDs. I HATE all the commercials on regular radio. I have a tendency to station surf listen to the song that's on then change it to another station when a commercial comes on. Most of the time though the radio is off.

In the house I love it quiet. The tv stays off unless we are watching a movie or the weather for the most part. No radio. I do have a small fan in the bedroom for "white noise" at night as I can't stand listening to cars go by or the neighbors dogs barking all night.

I sure could have used some quiet the other day. I took my mom and dad for their doctor appointments at the VA in Poplar Bluff and in between my mom and my dad's appointment we had about an hour to kill so we went to Burger King to get some coffee. It was a terrible experience. The music they were playing was blaring. We were having to talk really loud to one another and most of the time my mom and dad couldn't understand me because they have hearing loss. I wanted to report it but most everyone else were acting like they were use to it. One guy was talking on the cell phone and had his free hand over his other ear with his face all screwed up like he was trying really hard to hear. The BK crew behind the counter were all talking very loud to one another, I suppose to hear each other over the music. We were going to stay their and enjoy a couple of cups of coffee but we quickly refilled our cups and left. I won't be going back there again.

Count me in as another lover of quiet time. I rarely have the TV or radio on, except sometimes I do listen to music in the car. 9 times out of 10, I don't.

Noise bugs me. The kids and DH seem to need it all on, all the time - TV always yammering, video games blinging, and THEY never shut up. :) The kids are always singing or humming something, too -- but then, this is a happy noise, I don't mind that a bit.

There's hope, though. I was listening to the radio in the car recently and DD asked me if I would shut it off, she just wanted quiet. (yippee!)

The "quiet" issue is one we run into a lot when we're camping. Some people seem to play music at the campground just because they can. Campers at other sites usually have the manners to keep their music low, but since we usually go with two or three other families, this can be a touchy problem. I was "raised," as a camper, to appreciate the outdoors without musical accompaniment, so when I went canoeing one day and a member of our group brought along a boom box, I was kind of smugly satisfied when he tipped over and the music played no more. ;)

I think a lot of people like to have the noises of the TV/Radio because it creates sort of a wall to hide behind. Without that background noise, you can hear everything another person in the room or in the house is doing - talking, moving things around, burping, etc. There have been times I was grateful for the TV's background babble. :D

I love the noise of my evening - the kids, the animals, my wife clanking pots in the kitchen.

I love the quiet of the evening, when I go up to the barn at night to do the feeding/milking.

I think many don't enjoy the quiet because they have to then deal with their thoughts, sadly enough.

Count me among those who love the quiet so that I can hear nature's symphonies. Dang. Time to go milk the goats. They're getting nosiy! :)

NeHi

Some restaurants are intentionally noisy, so people won't linger- once they've eaten, gotta get 'em out and move the next paying customer in. I heard this from someone in the business.

I'm a urban dweller, but live on a street that is pretty quiet after 10pm at night. I have a pond with a waterfall in the back yard and a small fountain near my front patio so that helps to drown out any urban noise. I love to sit near my pond by candle and moonlight and just relax, listen to the birds and watch my cats play.

It's funny sometimes friends or family will come over and asked repeatedly "What's wrong?" because I am sitting alone in the dark with a candle or sometimes just by moonlight and I just smile and say "Nothing wrong, everything's right"

Also, outside of my work which takes me to alot of noisy club and venues, I would rather stay home and take advantage of the peace. Even when we can afford to treat ourselves to a meal out, we prefer to go during the day, after lunch and before dinner when fewer people are out.

I think you hit the nail on the head. When we lived remotely my stepdaughter (who grew up and lives in the middle of Chicago :rolleyes:) would come to visit and thought it was too quiet. I saw what you said in her. She always had to be going, doing, etc., and just never seemed to slow down. As I got to know her I found that she had to be that way because she really could not be left alone with herself and her thoughts. The theory was proven when, even in the middle of the city, years later she ended up in an apartment by herself with TV/phone, etc. having been shut off and she literally had a pyschological breakdown after 2 weeks. Granted, that's a worst case scenario but I really think a lot of people are just uncomfortable being alone with themselves and/or nature.

I love the quiet be it inside or out. As I sit here this morning typing this my home is quiet and even here in the city I can hear the birds outside, etc. As soon as DH gets up, though, on will go the infernal TV, as he needs his "background" noise. For some strange reason, even when we have company he has to keep the TV on, even while we're trying to all have conversation. I always reach over and turn it off and amazingly it's so much easier to have a conversation with everyone! :shrug:

Just the other evening before dark, when I was out putting up the critters for the night -- I asked, what I believe are, those tiny little frogs with big voices if their neighbors ever complain about all that noise...I let them know that I think it is lovely. They sing to encourage Spring to arrive.

Marlene

Donsgal, all children are not noisy. Whenever people would call my house when my girls were little, they'd ask "where are the girls?' to which I'd reply, "right hear." I always got "y'all are so quiet." When I'd drop in on my parents, they wouldn't know the children were in the house. They always headed to the back door to hug their (at that time) 3 Golden Retreivers. LOL. My girls and I are quiet people. When my ex comes to visit, I get a headache and get edgey. So do the girls. He's loud. He talks loud, the tv is on constantly, or he's 'singing' and he can't sing. I'm typing this and as my lovely neighbors has a car radio blaring. They get out the car and turn the radio up then have to scream over it talk to each other. How dumb is that? We're blessed with this house in town, but I sure will be happy to get back on my land. All you here is birds, frogs, coyotes and an occasional moo from the cows on either end of the road.

How true! :) DH and I only camp at state parks, for the reason that they are usually very peaceful. Even then, I always end up commenting "It's louder here than at home!" I thought the idea of camping was to get away from the noise...

I think a lot of people have been conditioned to tune out silence, or quietness, because doing so isn't "productive", and if they slow down, they'll somehow "miss" something.... I'm still working on this.:rolleyes:

One particular old song says it so very well-----Silence is Golden!

I love the outside noises too, in the country. DH likes background music but always asks if I want the radio on while where working at the land. Usually, NO!

Patty

I truly believe you have to be at peace with yourself before you can enjoy the quiet. I have always preferred silence over the raging noise. But then I guess I am different to some people. I love sitting out on my front porch just listening to the sounds of nature, the croaking of a frog, the singing of the birds and nothing is more satisfying than listening to a happy hen just singing her little song as she looks for a bug to eat. Gratefully I live in the country, only people made noise is a car passing occasionally. I also have a waterfall in my goldfish pond that is soothing to listen to.

I love the quiet, my husband hates it. He went fishing this weekend and I don't think I have had a radio or TV on at all. I remember 20 yrs ago when I moved from the St. Pete to father's house out in the country, I could not sleep because it was too quiet! Now when I spend the night in a city I can't sleep because it is too noisy! Last spring my son was laying in bed with me and I had the window opened and he said "I love the sound of summer". Made me realize how lucky we have it!

Are we talking absolute quiet as in no noise whatsover, or the lack of manmade sounds? I don't like absolute quiet, as I have tinnitus (ringing ears) and when it's completely quiet the ringing drives me nuts. I have to have SOME sound to take my attention away from it.

Right now, I'm sitting on the sofa listening to the birds chirp and the tinkling of the wind chimes. A large plane is flying overhead, and it seems like it's taking forever for the noise to fade away. We live on a 1/4 mile arterial street; not too much traffic, but a car just passed by with radio blaring. If I were outside, I'd be able to hear the traffic on the main streets that flank our neighborhood. On a really quiet day, I can hear the trains that run about a mile down the street. Right now the outside temperature is perfect; a little cooler and the neighbor's noisy heater would kick on, warmer and their noisy A/C would be on.

I generally have a radio on, not because I don't like quiet, but because I need something to drown out the planes, traffic and other noises that intrude on my day.

i would much rather listen to mother nature then some ones car radio.